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| See you next season... |
So seasonal staff, you have been here for the season and now you are getting ready to move on to the next part of your journey. Coachella for many - I heard a number of around 600 heading down from Big White, is this true? Big White should have their own (recruitment) tent down there... 'Sponsored by Telus'.
But you have to move out of your place... and it is a mess... and you have far more belongings than when you arrived... and there is that stain on the carpet... and that tear in the leather sofa... (yes Jess).
Remember when you arrived? They were (Sólido Properties places anyway) clean, yes maybe they had wear and tear but they were clean.
So... tips.
Damage.
Firstly talk to your landlord, show him the damage - a picture is fine, apologize and present a solution. Work with your landlord to find an inexpensive fix.
Damage to Furniture?
It can be a problem but, you can mitigate that problem. The furniture is likely to be a few years old, so it is not reasonable for a landlord to demand a brand new state of the art, bells and whistles coffee table from Country Treehouse costing $1800 because you broke his 20 year old, stained, scratched, wobbly one. But be proactive...
- Take ownership - yes we broke this.
- If it can be fixed-
- Find someone to repair it.
- Have the work done.
- If it cannot be repaired find a replacement - Castanet is great.
- Get the replacement brought up and put in place.
- Take a picture, tell your landlord, show him the replacement.
- Apologize and ask what he/she would like done with the old item.
If you reduce the landlords work load, he/she is less likely to be angry, and if they do get cranky... it will be for less time, or should be.
Drywall.
Usually can be fixed relatively easy by someone who has the tools and materials, it is a little time consuming but can be managed. The most important thing is matching paint - your landlord is likely to have colour codes or original paint laying around. Find and organize someone to do the work - check the Big White Facebook page, there are drywallers on the mountain offering their services.
Stained or filthy Carpets.
I find the best companies are the restoration ones - Total Restoration are on the mountain. Figure on $150 - $300 for a carpet clean.
Wood Flooring Damage...
Ouch. But own it, try and find a repair option, regardless you are probably looking at $200 - $300 cost.
Damaged Cabinets.
Most are easy to fix, again inform your landlord and present a solution.
General Cleaning.
Make your landlord's job easy.
- Strip the sheets, wash, dry, fold and leave on the bed.
- Empty fridge completely, clean all shelves thoroughly.
- Empty all cupboards, wipe down surfaces, replace cupboard items neat and tidy.
- Stove - interior, run a self-clean cycle, wipe down residue.
- Wash and fold all towels.
- Wood floors - sweep and mop.
- Tiling - sweep and mop.
- Bathrooms - clean, clean, clean! Somebody did it before you arrived, you are doing it or paying someone. Your choice.
- Baseboards will be dusty wipe them.
- Light switches will be greasy/dirty, wipe them.
- Walls will be gull of hand prints, wipe them.
Left over food - get rid of it, nobody wants your half bottle of ketchup. If it is unopened, take it with you, give to your friends moving to Kelowna, or to the food bank. Unless of course it is beer, you can leave the beer.
Draws full of junk... get rid.
Garbage - every season I take literally hundreds of garbage bags to the waste transfer station, it is time consuming, it is gross, it is a pain. I charge my tenants, your landlord will charge you.
Stuff you cannot fit in your bags...
Remember when you left home for the first time? Went to university or travelling, or living with a bestie, boyfriend/girlfriend. Remember how you left all your stuff in your room and when you broke up and came home... how you came back to your room and everything looked familiar (well, except clean, tidy and put away), remember how your first bike was still in the garage, your skateboard, roller-blades, surf-board... all those forgotten clothes...? Yes? How nice was that eh?
This is not your mum's house - take your crap with you. We don't want your worn out canvas shoes that stink like a cat died behind the sofa. We don't want those broken ski poles you were gonna use for a Go-Pro that you never bought. We don't want the old ripped ski pants, we don't want the de-laminated snowboard/ski. We don't want the old gloves, helmet, useless scratched goggles, bong made from a plastic bottle, seven single socks... hell, I don't even want pairs. I don't want underwear, I don't want that crappy St. Paddy's day costume covered in Guinness or even the Halloween/New Year/Aussie Day ones covered in your regurgitated lunch. I don't...? Yes, surprisingly it is true, I don't want any of that crap.
What do I want? Nothing, I want the place to look like you were never there... cos if it doesn't... I have to get my #1 to make it so. Star Trek reference dated me eh?
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| Is this how you found... left it? |
Protect yourself, there are landlord horror stories...
- Get your landlord to inspect the place on the day you leave.
- Get him to confirm the damage deposit return process - in writing.
- Make sure you understand what is likely to come out of the damage deposit.
- Cleaning including carpets?
- Damage - will he keep all of it for a tiny ding in the drywall? This is wrong.
- Unpaid utilities? Remember, these may take a while for the bill to arrive.
- Fines for noise.
- Breach of contract.
- If your landlord cannot inspect the day you leave, take pictures as the very last thing you do.
- Get a date when he will inspect.
- Send him/her copies of the pictures proving the condition it was left in.
- Confirm how the deposit will be returned.
- If there are multiple people, make sure all are aware of how deposit is returned.
- My company uses email, if your landlord is the same, ensure everyone has provided their email to the landlord.
References.
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| Sure, you can have a reference... |
Which leads to - Coming Back Next Season... dunno why I added capitals.
Where will you live?
Popular requests I get are...
- Village.
- Own Room.
- Hot tub.
- Deck.
- Really really really cheap, cos I'm nice... er no I don't have references... well my last landlord was an ass... my friends kept coming over making all the noise... well, yeah, I still have friends...
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| How much...? |
If your landlord can rent a place for $3k per month... why would he rent it to you for $1k?
Or... would you pay $2k, when your landlord only asked for $1500... why not, he is a nice landlord?
Didn't think so, be realistic.
- Village - everyone wants village, expect to pay a premium.
- Own room - if it sleeps two, you will pay for two.
- Hot tub - better chance in Happy Valley.
- Deck - hmmm, maybe, but again better chance in HV.
When should you start looking? This season I had 22 properties, five are already gone for next. The earlier you start, the easier it will be. Starting October? Ha! No. And don't contact me now, forget about it for four months and then ask 'is that place still available?' Yes, I was just holding it for you, I know I had four hundred other enquiries, but you seemed so nice and responsive... Ha! Gone.
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| I can manage my EMOTIONS! |
Good Ideas.
- Find people with whom you want to live.
- Not noisy,
- Clean and tidy.
- Respectful of the property and neighbours
- Can manage their emotions...
- Contact the landlord early.
- Have your ducks in order (it's a metaphor)
- Get your references ready.
- Have your deposit ready.
So, there you have it, simple eh?
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| Beer...? Oh, okay... |
Sólido Properties owns, manages, operates numerous properties targeting long term, seasonal and staff accommodation at Big White Ski Resort. We also (reluctantly) clean, repair damage, take junk to Value Village, empty fridges and cupboards, shampoo carpets... listen to endless excuses (they don't work, I have kids), fix beds/tables/drywall and even writes a blog to try and manage tenant expectations... but that does not work leading to drinking beer... and why I don't mind you leaving it...
This is our Facebook page - Like it. Yes, doing it now is a good idea... it is where I post available properties...
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